Feeding difficulties such as dysphagia, coughing, choking, or vomiting during meals, slow eating, oral aversion, food refusal, and stressful mealtimes are common in children with repaired esophageal atresia (EA) and the reasons for this are often multifactorial. The aim of this review is to describe the possible underlying mechanisms contributing to feeding difficulties in patients with EA and approaches to management. Underlying mechanisms for these feeding difficulties include esophageal dysphagia, oropharyngeal dysphagia and aspiration, and aversions related to prolonged gastrostomy tube feeding. The initial diagnostic evaluation for feeding difficulties in a patient with EA may involve an esophagram, videofluoroscopic imaging or fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation during swallowing, upper endoscopy with biopsies, pH-impedance testing, and/or esophageal motility studies. The main goal of management is to reduce the factors contributing to feeding difficulties and may include reducing esophageal stasis, maximizing reflux therapies, treating underlying lung disease, dilating strictures, and altering feeding methods, routes, or schedules.
aspiration; esophageal atresia; feeding difficulties; impedance testing; oropharyngeal dysphagia; tracheoesophageal fistula; videofluoroscopic swallow study
We comply with the HONcode standard for health trustworthy information
We are grateful for the financial support of EAT website
The 7th international Conference on EA will be held in Istambul, Turkey, in 2025.
My Baby Operated TEF when his age only 13 days.Now his age 1year 10 months.But didn’t eat any food except mothers milk.